One of today's premier male jazz vocalists, Nicolas Bearde returns to the studio for his fourth album release, Visions. Produced by long-time collaborator, grammy musical director, and songwriting partner Larry Batiste, Nicolas hits the jazz trail with this largely up tempo offering of jazz classics, sweetened with a touch of late night R&B.

Visions features a large and varied roster of all-star musicians, including renowned bassist Alphonso Johnson (Weather Report), pianist David Garfield (George Benson), drummer Will Kennedy (Yellowjackets) and sax man Gary Meek (Airto). Along with Jon Lucien’s samba gem “You’re Sensational”, produced by bass legend Alphonso Johnson and popular jazz standards such as Errol Garner’s classic “Misty”, given a hip shaking swing infusion here with David K. Mathews’ (Etta James, Santana) gritty and growling B3 accompaniment, Nicolas gets his groove on with a funky, horn-driven arrangement of Gene McDaniels’ legendary composition, “Compared to What”. Bringing different shadings to his work, Nicolas tests the waters in new approaches to the jazz music that has intrigued and inspired him since he first fell under the spell of jazz greats like Miles Davis and John Coltrane. The Doug Carn straight ahead arrangement of Maurice and Verdine White’s inspirational piece “Mighty, Mighty” simply smokes with Marcus Shelby’s churning bass line, drummer Deszon Claiborne’s rapid-fire stick work and Glen Pearson’s fiery piano. The set is topped off with the title track, Stevie Wonders plaintive plea for understanding “Visions”, featuring the elegant guitar stylings of Bay Area staple, John Hoy.

Visions will be available at iTunes, Amazon.com and at all major digital download sites on February 5th, 2013. Nicolas Bearde’s entire catalog, can also be found at major retailers throughout North America distributed by City Hall Records and in the UK distributed by Expansion Records.

For more information, promo requests or to set up an interview, please contact:
Darlene Miller
darlene(at)nicolasbearde(dot)com
510-547-8400